With Democratic operatives working inside Mark Carney’s government, U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer says Canada is “certainly” making political decisions after Fox News raised whether Ottawa is eyeing the U.S. midterms.
During a Sept. 22 appearance on The Brian Kilmeade Show, Kilmeade noted that Democratic operatives working in the Carney administration understand “what the midterm elections are about and when they are.”
Greer said political considerations appeared to be influencing some Canadian decisions but stopped short of saying Ottawa was attempting to influence or strategically target the midterms.
“They certainly are making political decisions because it doesn’t make economic sense,” Greer said. “Whether they’re focused on our midterms or not, I don’t know.”
The exchange comes as Maia Johnson, a former Hillary Clinton campaign official, holds a senior role in Carney’s PMO advising on Canada–U.S. relations.
Johnson served as Hillary Clinton’s scheduling director during her 2016 presidential campaign and now serves as the PMO’s chief operating officer while advising Carney on Canada–U.S. relations.
Toronto Sun columnist Brian Lilley reported that Johnson is an American and registered Democrat who worked for Michael Bloomberg’s Hawkfish political consulting firm when it pitched to work for Joe Biden’s 2020 campaign. Lilley also reported that Johnson donated to the Biden-Harris campaign.
Greer did not name Johnson or claim Democratic-linked advisers were steering Canada’s trade strategy around the midterms.
Instead, he pointed to Canada’s trade retaliation as evidence of political considerations, noting seafood and lobster were initially targeted before being dropped — sparing Maine.
“When they announced their retaliation, originally they had seafood and lobster on it, which would have hit Maine, and then they took that off,” Greer said.
The U.S. Representative said that whatever Ottawa’s political calculations, the midterm results would not change the Trump administration’s trade strategy.
“All I know is the midterms, they don’t change our trade policy,” he said. “We’re using executive authorities, and the president has had the same trade policy for about 40 years.”
Despite the political rhetoric, Greer said Washington remains in regular contact with Ottawa.
“I talk to my counterpart with some frequency,” he said.
But Greer suggested the Trump administration feels little urgency to reach a new agreement.
“It’s always been Canada that has wanted a deal,” Greer said. “The president is pretty satisfied with just having tariffs and protections in place.”
“If the Canadians have some kind of other deal that they think makes sense, we obviously will entertain it,” he added. “At the same time, we offered them the best deal in the world. And so we’re not in a position to offer them something better than that.”
Asked whether a deal could be reached before the midterms, Greer said he did not know.
“We talk with some regularity and talk about terms,” he said.